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Teen charged with trying to burn down Mattapan roller rink that denied her entry

A Mattapan 14-year-old was arraigned yesterday on an arson charge in Dorchester District Court for allegedly setting the front door of the Chez Vouz roller rink on Rhodes Street on fire Saturday night, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.

The teen, not named because of her age, allegedly shoved burning papers into the front door, after she was turned away around 10 p.m. the DA's office says, adding she had been earlier barred by the rink for 30 days for "fighting and making threats to other patrons."

Rink employees quickly doused the fire with an extinguisher, but it still did $3,000 in damage - while roughly 120 people skated inside, the DA's office says.

The teen and a friend were apprehended a short distances from the rink, which sits behind the District B-3 police station.

Prosecutors say the girl's failed attempt at arson was captured on video.

Prosecutors asked for bail of $5,000. Judge Leslie Harris released her to the custody of her grandmother with orders to be home by 5 p.m., go to school each day - and get their on time - and stay away from Chez Vous and witnesses.

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So many questions. First, what's up with the idea that being denied something (roller rink entrance, a free ride on a bus, etc.) means that you can cause harm or physical damage? Second, who starts a fire right behind a police precinct? Three, who records an arson incident?

Actually it is the local school district in which the child lives that forks over the money for education outside of the district in places like Arlington. So that'd be my Boston property tax dollars going into Arlington.

I'm totally okay with that, because schools like Germaine Lawrence exist to help people like this girl so they don't grow up to be even more troubled adults. I like that for all kinds of other reasons that don't have to do with tax dollars, but since your refer specifically to that, the tax dollars are getting "tied up" on account of troubled kids being sent to schools like Germaine Lawrence are nothing compared to the tax dollars that get "tied up" dealing with the troubled kids that did not get appropriate intervention and went on to become troubled adults.

The drain on Arlington taxpayers is due to Arlington police routinely getting called to G-L when a client assaults a staff member or another client. Some of the residential facilities send students to the public schools where they often bully and assault local kids and those bused in from Boston under the METCO program. Consuming police and teacher/staff time isn't compensated. Arlington residents are the ones who suffer Boston's problems. Arlington kids get less education when staff are extra busy with problem kids. Sorry if facts are not politically correct.

Have some more residential facilities in Boston so kids can stay closer to their families, friends, and community. Unless, being in Boston was the problem in the first place

Considering that half the 1980s attendees of the former Arlington East Jr. High are now wards of the state you're really pot kettle blacking it up there. Never has a school ever produced so many future heroin, meth, and Oxycontin junkies as that place did.

Good observation. Police logs are sanitized prior to release or publication. It used to be that G-L was named in incidents. Then, only the street name would be used. Now, incidents are removed entirely. The excuse is likely protection of identity for minors etc. when that is not really what is to be most protected - usual story.

Mr. Kaepplein is not correct here. I religiously read the police log of the print edition of the Arlington Advocate. The police are periodically/episodically called to the Germane Lawrence School and the name is used in the log. Occasionally, for whatever reason, they may use the street name but I can say with certainty that reports of incidents have used the school name as recently as within the past six months for sure.

To most of your comment, I'm not going to say anything more than "uh, wtf dude," but to the part about it treating mostly children from Boston, that's just not accurate. There are quite a lot of suburban children there, and it was often more suburban than urban. Looking at sending district data isn't going to tell you a lot about where's "home" though for many of the kids, because many are coming from foster care.

The original news article was about a Boston girl who started a fire. G-L gets its share of girls who start fires, so that was the connection. Treating firebugs is important. I remember the story about a lesbian in her early 20s who burned down the Southie house of a mother who broke up with her. The fire killed her teen daughter. A tragic thing we don't want repeated.

Arlington has something like 50 group homes. Very few cause any problems for the community. G-L is one of those exceptions. A friend worked at a girls home in Concord, so treatment exists in the 'burbs too.

Yes, there are treatment programs throughout the state. They serve people with all different needs. People are placed in programs based on their needs, not on geography. There are people in programs in Boston who are from the burbs and vice versa. So?

I'm sure the calls to the Germaine Lawrence School are really putting a dent in the APD's ability to respond to the crime wave that washes through our town every day. It must really slow down their response time when someone calls to report a delivery guy on their front porch, or some man walking down Mass Ave minding his own business.

This rink is history. Go there. Support it. Have FUN. It's weathered bigger storms. NO, there is not a shooting there every week.
I brought my skates all the way from GA JUST to skate there.
The little girl who did acted so stupidly by setting that fire needs LOVE and GUIDANCE. She needs to REPAIR what she did. She doesn't need to be locked away. She NEEDS to face the damage she did and FIX IT. Whatever she is lacking will begin to be built in her sweat and tears as she REPAIRS the damage she caused. She NEEDS to FACE the owners and those who were skating that night with an APOLOGY.
YES, I have all the same inner thoughts (that little bit.., put her in jail, make her pay....) BUT, what really matters is how she OWNS this and REPAIRS it.
I pray for her and her family. I pray for the owners & for the next 100 years of Chez Vouz getting it's roll on.
Love & Blessings,
Darlene

Anger issues like this girl has are mostly a result of a very disruptive and dysfunctional home life. Probably tons of drama. Then the police and other government agencies must step in because there are no capable parents. Usually it's just a drama queen mom. These are the issues that should be addressed by society. Having the state get their hands on the kid once they're teenagers and in HS is a day late and a dollar short.

I know families who have troubled children who have none of these characteristics. One of my son's friends had nothing going on save for learning disability issues until puberty hit and WHAM! Big trouble.

Life can be complicated and some kids who do fairly well as kids go off the rails in adolescence despite great efforts by their parents. They need professional help, sometimes in a residential setting, and you can't blame that on people who have actually worked hard and advocated for their kids. Just like you can't blame mental illness on parents, either.

I've been to chez-vous faithfully every week for the past 2 years. No shootings. The rink isn't the problem, it's a place for recreation...like a gym. The problem is some of the troubled people that GO there. Instead of leaving their problems at the door and going in to actually skate and enjoy the music or play pool, they bring their problems in and cause trouble. It's just sad that a 14 year old girl is that angry to set the place on fire. She could have potentially killed a lot of people.

Having been the last skate instructor, your words ring solid TRUTH.
I've used the mantra "don't judge Chez Vous from the papers,come over and skate, and judge for yourselves".

Seems like common sense, but in Boston, you need wisdom,intelligence,and a sense of strength to visit Dorch, Mattapan,Roxbury,S.Bost,ChinaTwn. Some folks can't deal with the mix of Caribean,Afro-Amer,Chinese, Portuguese,Vietnamese, and other folks.

Be glad, you have the Courage to force the truth in people issues. Most people are distracted with all kinds of minor BS.